Welcome to the Swamp
by Krac
Summary: First in my Bayou Breton alternate series. As if vampires weren't enough for Sadie Dupuis to deal with- now she has a new watcher to train.


1 Welcome to the Swamp  
  
  
  
2 One  
  
Head down, fists clenched she ran through the above ground crypts, their white wash glowing in the moonlight. Like a hound dog with a scent in it's nose she let nothing swerve her from her path-the hunt was on. Scrambling she used her long arms to pull herself on top of a crypt and hunkered down in the shadows to wait.  
  
"Come out come out wherever you are 'Tite Slayer," a bulky man rounded a corner; in life he had worked on one of the many oilrigs in the area-but at this point in the game his life was long over.  
  
The man sniffed the air delicately, scrunching up his already ugly face and flashing his fangs. In the shadows the girl stayed still willing her muscles to unclench. "Ma chère, you're only going to make Jacques mad if you make him find you. I'll kill you quickly if you come out like a good fille."  
  
The vampire smiled at his own kindness and looked around in the darkness knowing that the girl was there somewhere. He turned his broad back a full one hundred and eighty degrees to search the base of a crypt. Seeing her chance the girl jumped down onto the monster's back and wrapped her legs around his mid-section. With a roar the vampire tried to buck her off. Using every bit of the upper body strength she dared to divert from the task of staying attached to his enormous back the girl twisted the vampire's neck snapping it in two, then she released walking carcass and fell to the ground rolling away.  
  
Jacques the vampire lumbered with a pained expression on his demonic face, the injury wasn't fatal but even the undead felt pain-he moved towards the girl trying to clutch at her clothing. Dodging his clumsy attacks, she punched at the vampire's chest and released the wooden stake she kept under spring pressure up her sleeve.  
  
The weapon hit home and with a dumbfounded expression the vampire formerly known as Jacques crumbled into a pile of dust. The girl looked at the dust and popped her sore neck, as the bushes nearby rustled and she dropped to a defensive position ready for any other creatures of the night that could be thrown at her. A tall, gangly boy her own age emerged- completely loaded down with stakes, crosses and holy water; he was panting. "Sadie, do you have to run so fast?"  
  
A wry smile lit up Sadie's grey eyes in the darkness, "Mon Dieu, TJ with all the stomping round you do how is it that you haven't been Leech kibble yet?"  
  
"T'es trop grande pour tes culottes chère Slayer," TJ grumbled used to her more than occasional reminders about his utter lack of stealth, "Just because you have the super powers don't make you Dieu's gift to killing vampires."  
  
Seeing her friend's less than enthusiastic expression Sadie softened her harsh words, "Tee-Jean Pitre, just how long have you and I been friends?"  
  
Grudgingly he relented, "Since your pere thought I was you in the hospital when we were born and my folks told him that they had enough children and they'd share me with him if he wanted another so badly."  
  
"And how long have I been a vampire slayer?" Sadie took some of the load from TJ and shouldered it easily.  
  
"About three years now," TJ tried to sound vague but both he and Sadie knew exactly when she had taken up the mantle and signed away her life for the sake of the world.  
  
Putting a hand on TJ's chest Sadie looked up into his wide blue eyes, "Yeah, you have sixteen years on the slaying espesces de tete dure."  
  
"You know Sade," TJ grinned lecherously ready to leave the spat in the cemetery, "If you weren't like a sister to me- Ani might have some competition."  
  
With a wide smile Sadie stopped and dumped all she had taken from TJ back into his unprepared arms causing him to drop most of the weapons. Walking a few feet ahead the smile grew on Sadie's round face-she thought of what TJ's diminutive girlfriend would do to him if she learned of him even thinking of being unfaithful, "If you ever cheated on Ani, you'd need more than my super powers to protect your skinny ass. Sides, you and Ani have been engaged since kindergarten, face it Tee-Jean you're an old married man and you haven't even married her yet."  
  
"I'm not getting married till you do," He grinned and scooped up the crosses with his long arms, "That way I'm sure Ani will be waiting a long time. Ever since Remi left…"  
  
"Arrête!" Sadie flashed not liking the way TJ would bring her AWOL significant other into every conversation. It hadn't been her fault that he had left, after all Sadie had given everything she could to Remi Dejardins-except a promise to stop risking her life every night to save 'complete strangers' as he'd put it time and time again. "We're not talking about Remi tonight, TJ. There's no use in beating a gator when you know that it's dead." Sadie fought to keep the wistfulness from her voice, "And don't talk about him in front of Poppa-he never liked him."  
  
Wisely, TJ moved the subject away from matters of the heart, "So speaking of Poppa, did he say when we could expect the next Tweed wearing tea toddler from the Watcher's council?"  
  
"I heard him cursing loud enough to wake the dead and then telling Mr. Giles that he wasn't going to drive all the way to Lafayette to pick up the next fils de putain that wants his jeune fille to risk her neck while he sits back and watches." Sadie groaned wondering just how the new watcher would take her father's caring outburst out on her; that was the way it had always been.  
  
Admiration lit TJ's eyes, "I'll have to thank him when we get back to La Masion. If this new watcher is anything like Harrison then your Poppa has all the reason in the world to curse and shout."  
  
A shudder ran down Sadie's spine as she thought of all the times her Watcher Harrison Grant had let her walk into a fight unprepared and ill- equipped only to look surprised when she returned every time. Eventually the problem had been solved when her father had in no uncertain terms told Harrison that he and not the Watcher's council would arm his daughter.  
  
Sadie could still laugh at the memory of the obese, balding watcher cowering in the face of all six feet of hardened former marine that still lurked in Paul Dupuis when he was taking a stand. It was little surprise then that Harrison had had a massive heart attack six months ago-leaving Sadie and her dedicated crew of fellow do-gooders wary of the next intrusion from over-seas.  
  
"Well," she helped TJ dump his arm load of gear into the flatbed of the truck that they had conveniently parked outside the gates before taking up their hunt, "You can tell him all you want-if we don't get back and report soon he'll skin both of us and hang us up next to Louis."  
  
Climbing into the old truck TJ sent up a prayer that it would start-he certainly didn't want to spend the rest of his days strung up in La Masion, Bayou Breton's general store, restaurant and bait and tackle shop next to a stuffed alligator. "Then I'll drive quickly and maybe he'll still be too mad at the Watchers to be mad at us."  
  
Disbelief flooded Sadie's features as she thought of her father, "I doubt that TJ but it's worth a try."  
  
********************************  
  
Cypress trees flashed by reflected in the shiny finish of the helmet the Watcher wore in abeyance with motorcycle bylaws. He had another twenty miles before he would finally arrive at his destination; Bayou Breton, Louisiana. It wouldn't be hard to be there before dark as he had promised himself. Deciding to take a spur of the moment rest stop he pulled the shiny black bike off the road and into the weed choked picnic area.  
  
It had been years since the Watcher had stepped foot in the country of his birth and despite the time constraints he wanted to appreciate the beauty of the landscape. Louisiana was making his childhood home of California look like the garishly over-painted sister of a fresh-faced girl. The almost too well placed to be real Spanish moss filtered enough of the sunlight to bathe everything in a more favorable light.  
  
Chuckling at his own uncharacteristic flight of whimsy, the Watcher took off his helmet and smoothed his unruly dark hair down; stooping slightly to remove the file folder from the saddlebags attached to his bike. It only took three long strides for him to bring himself to the dilapidated old table that might once have seen many a happy summer day, and station himself leaning against the cracked wood.  
  
Taking a deep breath the Watcher opened the folder to read for the hundredth time about his new charge-Mercedes Dupuis-the vampire slayer. He knew all the black and white facts as well as he knew the look on his father's face when he called him 'G-Man.'. Sadie had first been found at thirteen and called at sixteen a full three years ago in March.  
  
She had faced a Kilala- one of the soul destroyers, taken on swamp creatures that belonged in 50's B-movies, and become a name to fear amongst the voodoo community of Louisiana. Even managing to find the time to stake New Orleans' leading vampire Andre Desparatie while on a school trip.  
  
The facts and dates told him that she could do her job. That she could get results. But black and white numbers couldn't tell the Watcher what the slayer-his Slayer-was like. Did she live only for the kill, or did she try to shirk her sacred duty? Had her life made her a killing machine, damaged goods, or could she still see the light of life beckoning in the darkness? Most importantly, the facts couldn't tell him how not only Sadie but those close to her would receive him. He had caught enough of Paul Dupuis' angry phone call with Giles to know that he wasn't welcome. A cold sweat ran down his spine, could his presence turn her away from the Council?  
  
After all the hard work the Watcher had done in England, the very thought of failing at this one important task asked of him by the man he called father made him forget that he was no longer the boy he had been. No he was not the same boy who had begged to help fight the forces of darkness. In the end it hadn't been his birth father's abuse and beatings that had changed him from that optimistic do-gooder to the cool detached observer he was now. It had been love.  
  
In one night he had watched the one great love of his life die to save his own worthless skin, but even the pain of that blow could have bounced off his sunny disposition. But that had also been the night that his hero fell from her literal and metaphorical pedestals. That had been the first time he had seen a Slayer die but certainly not the last.  
  
A slayer who had been his friend, his hero, his first love-a slayer he had thought invincible. But no one was invincible not even Buffy Summers. With a shake the Watcher steeled himself; no matter how highly the Council thought of young Sadie-she was not Buffy-no one would ever fill those stilettos in his mind.  
  
The Watcher knew what he was here to do, guide, nurture and assist when possible until the time when Sadie would no longer need him. The Watcher would not allow himself to get too attached to her because no matter how good she was it had to end sometime. No Slayer was immortal it was always just a matter of time.  
  
Closing the folder and putting it away with his dark thoughts the Watcher replaced the papers in the saddlebags and straddled the bike once more. Pulling the helmet over his head once more he pointed himself in the direction he had been traveling since the first night Buffy Summers had saved him from certain death.  
  
  
  
3 Two  
  
Small gusts of air floated down to Sadie from the relic of a ceiling fan as she wiped slow, lazy circles on the already clean counter. Taking a break to swipe at the sweat beading up on her forehead and to push away the hair that found a new home in the perspiration, Sadie scanned the empty expanse of the Dupuis family establishment-La Masion. Even in January the weather in Bayou Breton could still make her feel like a crawfish in a cooking pot. Craning her head Sadie could hear her father berating TJ as they attempted to resurrect the store's air conditioning unit from the dead.  
  
With a metallic clank and a wheeze it started spewing out lukewarm air and Sadie straightened herself as TJ slunk inside looking as chastised as a puppy being house trained. Behind her best friend her father muttered incessantly in his French patois about the uselessness of modern youth.  
  
Watching him covertly as she watered a spider plant for the fifth time that day, Sadie could see what had drawn her mother to Paul Dupuis over twenty years ago. His body had yet to start obeying the laws of gravity in the way that most forty-two year old bodies tended to do. He still looked like the imposing Marine sergeant he had been when he had met Sadie's mother Lucrecia in Spain.  
  
But that was another lifetime ago, Sadie reminded herself. Her mother had died when she had been eight years old. Her father had always been unwilling to talk about the past with her and Sadie's position as Slayer had only helped to further Paul's silence. As if he had already prepared himself for the reality that he would lose his beloved daughter one day as well. Everyone in town but Sadie seemed to know the tragic love story of Paul Dupuis and his Spanish rose.  
  
Shaking herself Sadie gave TJ a sympathetic smile, "Is it fixed for good this time, Poppa?"  
  
"For now." Paul drawled pulling a rag out of his pocket to wipe his dirty hands off, "But only Dieu knows how long it'll stay that way."  
  
The silver bells above the door chimed and in walked a tall man dressed all in black leather. Sadie was torn between admiration and disdain-who wore leather when it was easily eighty degrees in the shade. Dragging her work smile to her lips Sadie ignored TJ's suspicious glare, "Allo Monsieur, welcome to La Masion, can I help you?"  
  
Sadie was certain that under his dark sunglasses the man had raked his eyes over her and now he smiled appreciatively, "I'm looking for a girl."  
  
"Bayou Breton is full of them," TJ moved to the counter, "Someone like you- won't need to look for them. They'll come running. Most girls are like dogs, they smell trouble miles away…"  
  
With a look that had often sent creatures of the night running for cover, Sadie glared at her best friend. The man ignored it all and smiled removing his dark sunglasses to reveal dark soulful eyes, "I'm looking for a particular girl-Mercedes Dupuis."  
  
Paul moved protectively to his daughter and in her own best interests Sadie stayed silent allowing her father to feel like he could protect her, "What you want with Sadie, Anglais? She don't have no business with your likes."  
  
"I'm assuming you are Mr. Dupuis?" he asked smoothly.  
  
"Oui," Paul cracked his knuckles and glowered, "I am."  
  
The dark man smiled and offered a hand to Paul, "It's a pleasure to meet you then, sir. I've heard so much about you. My name is Alexander Harris- the Watcher's council sent me."  
  
"The watchers?" Sadie frowned running her eyes up his form once more not knowing whether she was relieved or more confused, "But you're not wearing tweed…"  
  
He smiled assuming that he had found his girl-he hadn't been ready for Buffy's complete opposite to remind him so much of his friend, "I'm not British either and I hate tea. Have we cleared everything to your satisfaction, Ms. Dupuis?"  
  
"Non," Paul drew himself up, "I thought I told that M. Giles we didn't need another British sissy…"  
  
"But I already told you I'm not British." He drawled back, "And as far as the council's concerned Sir, Ms. Dupuis does need a watcher. So here I am, getting paid to argue the point with you, which is a waste of time. I need to assess the damage that incompetent ass Grant, has done to her skills and settle myself in a new town. So if we're done I'd like to see any training area you have set up already."  
  
Sadie eyed him nervously this Alexander Harris was no Grant; he wasn't going to roll over and let her or her father walk all over him. Sadie was just finding it hard to imagine a watcher so young, or good-looking for that matter. "How do we know you're really a Watcher? You could be anyone pretending to be this Harris guy."  
  
Without arguing he handed a phone to Sadie, "Call Rupert Giles if you're unsure. He'll vouch that I am who I say am. It's a smart idea not to accept something at face value."  
  
"Don't you know that this is the bayou chapter of MENSA?" TJ snapped not trusting the stranger one bit.  
  
Sadie nodded to her father and dialed the number from memory- one that she had found in Grant's belongings after his death. After all as head of the Watcher's council Rupert Giles was the man who at times literally held her life in his hands. The other end began to ring and Sadie drummed her fingernails on the counter impatiently.  
  
Finally, a brusque voice responded in the clipped tones of the head Watcher; Sadie wondered why his assistant hadn't answered for him, "Rupert Giles."  
  
"Allo M. Giles," Sadie began slightly awed by the limited knowledge she had of the man she was talking to-Grant had looked at him as a cross between God and Satan-she had only met him once but she had found him warm and fatherly despite his bluster, "This is Sadie…"  
  
"Hello Ms. Dupuis, I trust you are well," Rupert Giles smiled on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.  
  
Even though he would never see it Sadie nodded, "I am merci. There is a man here saying that he is my new watcher. I wanted to be sure that he's telling the truth."  
  
"So, Xander has made it then," the voice answered with relief, "I didn't expect him to make such good time on that infernal machine of his. Put him on the line if you will Sadie."  
  
Feeling like a small child caught with her hands in the cookie jar Sadie handed the phone back to Harris. With liquid grace he put the phone to his ear-of course Sadie, TJ and Paul could only hear one half of the conversation, "Hey G-Man, yep I'm here. No things are fine. I told her to call if she wasn't sure. Yes, there is- you didn't tell me that old man. They are. Yes, I see it is a similar situation. It might take some time for that. Glad to know you think so, you know how much that means to me. Of course, tell Dawn I love her and I'll talk to her the next time I check in. You too Giles, bye."  
  
He handed the phone back to Sadie so that she and Giles could continue their talk but it took all of his control not to blush and stammer like a little kid at some of Giles' all too familiar questions, "Are you okay? Isn't there something about her that reminds you of Buffy? Are her friends still glued to her side? Reminds you of us doesn't it? Can you get them to trust you? I believe in you, you are the most suitable watcher for Sadie just remember what you've learned. I love you, son."  
  
He came back to reality as Sadie ended the phone call and set the appliance back onto the counter. She ran a hand through her short hair that he had yet to decide whether was brown, dark blonde or red. Sadie offered a smile to her father and best friend, "M. Giles said that he hand picked M. Harris to be my new watcher and that he is most capable. I trust him and he has said I may trust you when I'm ready to," She moved her silver eyes to her new task master, "So it looks like you're staying for now, M. Harris…"  
  
"Please call me Alex," he told her plainly, "I'm not that much older than you are, Ms. Dupuis."  
  
Sadie made a face at the formal title, "Only if you call me, Mercedes." She pointed to the room's other occupants, "You've already met my father, Paul Dupuis."  
  
Paul still wore a stony face despite his dislike of the watchers he did respect M. Giles and if Sadie trusted the man's judgment then he would be ever so slightly less vigilant. "M. Dupuis or Sir to you, Anglais."  
  
"I wouldn't have expected to call you anything else, Sir." Alex replied wholeheartedly.  
  
Rolling her eyes Sadie pointed to TJ, "And that lump is Tee-Jean Pitre, my best friend and patrol partner."  
  
Alex had to incline his neck ever so much to see into TJ's clear blue eyes, his gut told him that if given the motive this young man would be more trouble than Sadie and her father combined. A smart comment died on TJ's lips as the bells tinkled again, all Alex saw was a small dark haired streak tackle the towering young man around the middle. Alex was surprised to see it was a very small young woman; she stood maybe five feet tall at best. She began her tirade without noting his existence, "Jean Michele Louis Pierre Pitre, you forgot to pick me up! I had to walk here from my Grande Mere's! There had better be a damn good reason or Dieu help you…"  
  
To say that TJ appeared chastened would have been an understatement, "Ani, not in front of him."  
  
The girl-Ani whirled on Alex dark eyes blazing, "And who is he?"  
  
"Alex Harris," he answered checking the mirth in his eyes, "Mercedes' new 'watcher.'"  
  
She measured him with her eyes for several seconds, Alex felt as if she was plunging into every secret he possessed. Realizing that she was in-fact doing just that he summoned up his strength and stonewalled the psychic attack as he had been taught to.  
  
Ani broke the connection and smiled at him lazily, "I didn't think they made watchers so easy on the eyes. Sadie why do you always get the best- looking boys around? It isn't fair that you should have that and super powers as well." She didn't wait for a comment; "I'm Antoinette Prejean but you M. may call me Ani…"  
  
"She's my girlfriend," TJ cut in not liking the admiration in Ani's eyes even if it was one most often seen on a farmer's face while looking at a good crop.  
  
Not liking the turn things were taking Sadie eyed her watcher warily; only time would tell if the recommendation by M. Giles was well founded. "Why don't I show you where I train, Alex?"  
  
Nodding he followed her towards a room in the back of the store feeling thirty years older than he really was-once upon a time he and his friends had been just like this small group. Keeping his eyes focused on Sadie's back he hoped that somehow they would retain even just a small amount of the hope they had now.  
  
  
  
4 Three  
  
"Good, now again. And this time don't drop your right arm so far." Alex panted adjusting his hands for Sadie to practice the new spin kick he had started teaching her. Neither of them had seen a point to wasting time and had gotten right down to work; barely taking time to change into sweats for the workout.  
  
Bouncing on the balls of her feet Sadie took several deeps breaths, then very gracefully she rushed forth jumping upwards her leg jerking out at just the right time to catch the pads that covered his hands. This time her right hand didn't drop from it's defensive position. "Like that?" she asked not even breathing heavily and Alex had to begrudge her the stamina her powers gave her.  
  
"Exactly," he offered a small smile and took the pad off his throbbing hand; in all the times he had helped with Buffy's training he had never felt so utterly outclassed. Either Sadie was a stronger slayer, which Alex doubted, or Buffy had been drawing her punches, which he believed. "It's starting to get dark," he pointed outside.  
  
Sadie nodded liking the fact that he was a normal guy despite the superwatcher status Giles had bestowed on him, "I can see that. Are we done? TJ and I have a few newborns to stake tonight."  
  
Alex looked pained and coughed lightly, "I ah… told TJ not to come tonight…"  
  
"You what?" Sadie whirled eyes blazing, "What right do you have to tell him what to do? You can't just come in here and change everything you…you…masochistic, tea drinking, thing changing watcher you!"  
  
His eyes darkened; he was so not going to let a spoiled little girl order him around, "I told you I don't drink tea, what's wrong with drinking tea? Giles drinks tea-a lot! And how have you decided I'm a masochist? I hate pain. I try to avoid pain at all costs."  
  
"Anyone who would volunteer to spar with a Slayer has got to have a screw loose!" Sadie hissed back feeling heat rise to her face, why was she so mad about being alone with Alex?  
  
"Maybe because it's my fucking job!" he spat at her, "Stop acting like a spoiled child! I just want to see your form in the field and it's easier for me to do that if TJ isn't there. If it means that much to you we'll do this one together then tomorrow night you and TJ can take half of the town and I'll work the other half."  
  
Sadie felt the sting of his words even with the olive branch he offered-she wasn't spoiled, really. "Fine with me. Wait you patrol? Since when do watchers patrol? I thought you guys watched…"  
  
"I'm a little different. I found that it works better to be hands on," Alex thought of his youth, "Besides Giles patrolled with Buffy why should I do it any differently?"  
  
Sadie quirked an eyebrow, "Buffy? People actually name their children, Buffy? Jeez, and I thought it was bad that TJ's folks forgot they already had a son named, Jean."  
  
Alex's eyes glowed and he moved forward so that he and Sadie were only inches apart. For a moment Sadie thought that he would slap her-Slayer or no she had hit a nerve and she knew it. Finally he spoke in a robotic voice, "Get everything you need for patrol, I'll meet you outside in five minutes."  
  
Once he had left her Alex strode through the doors of the store and out to his waiting bike. He took several deep cleansing breaths and tried to get his temper under control. Sadie didn't know about the past, she didn't know about Buffy and everything she had done for the world- and for him. But still there was something in him that couldn't stand to hear the deceased slayer's name besmirched-he didn't want to see that bright laughter in Sadie's eyes in regard to his friend.  
  
Settling down to wait Alex thought about his slayer. She wasn't what he had expected-he didn't think anyone could have expected her. Sadie seemed dedicated to her duty but she still laughed and enjoyed life. It was almost as if the best qualities of Buffy, Kendra and even Faith were rolled into one very different young woman. One attractive young woman at that, if he was completely honest with himself.  
  
Shaking himself Alex moved away from those dangerous thoughts. There was no way he was going to even think about his slayer in the context of what a normal guy would think at the sight of her heart shaped face, bright grey eyes and indefinable hair. He would bet Giles had never had even remotely lustful thoughts about Buffy-at least he hoped not.  
  
Before Alex could make himself nauseous, Sadie thundered down the steps of the gallerie with a bag of supplies strapped to her back. She had changed out of the clothes she had worked-out in and into a pair of plain black Capri pants a dark long sleeved t-shirt and sneakers-no patrolling in designer duds for her. Without a word she hopped on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Let's go."  
  
Slowly Alex turned and handed her his helmet, "Put this on first."  
  
"Why?" Sadie asked still smarting from their earlier clash.  
  
Letting out a breath he pushed it at her, "Because it's the law."  
  
"If I wear it you won't have one and we'd still be breaking the law." Sadie pointed out, "And besides I would be less likely to be hurt if this thing crashed. You on the other hand would be- so you're wearing it."  
  
Without a word Alex complied. She was right anyway-despite his fervent wishes he did not have a slayer's advanced healing ability. Revving the engine he peeled the bike away from the porch with Sadie clinging to his back.  
  
Somehow in reality the idea of them leaving on his bike instead of in the truck, Paul would have lent them seemed less like a good plan for banishing his not-quite right thoughts than it had when he was denying having them. But now it took much of his concentration from the road to try to tell himself that he was not enjoying the way Sadie's thighs were pressed against him.  
  
Perhaps because of all of this they arrived at the cemetery Alex had passed on his way to the store much faster than either expected to. As soon as the bike was still Sadie hopped off mentally cursing the way her hormones were reacting to being in close quarters with Alex, as much as he was berating himself. Deciding that getting to work was the best alternative Sadie pointed to the left, "Newer graves are that way. We had two die recently that should be rising tonight if Ani's calculations are right."  
  
Alex nodded and let Sadie lead the way; she was the slayer and the one who knew where they were going by heart. As they drew closer to the newer section of the cemetery Sadie's movements grew stealthier; it was in this region that Sires had a habit of meeting their new children when they first rose- instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. Motioning for Alex to halt his movements Sadie swung the pack off of her back and began pulling out the toys her father had designed for her nocturnal activities.  
  
Watching curiously Alex noted the well made stakes, crosses and the ever- useful water gun full of holy water. He finally realized that Sadie had strung a choker made of crosses around her long neck, something that would make it hard to get the bite on. Alex stopped her when Sadie pulled a 357 magnum from the recesses of her bag, "That won't do any good against a vampire."  
  
Expertly, Sadie removed the clip and the first bullet, it's silver plating glowed in the moonlight, "These do. They were Poppa's little invention. Silver plated, hollow points filled with a mixture of holy water and garlic oil." She rolled the bullet over so her watcher could see the crosses raised on the sides of the projectile, "We get each bullet blessed by the local priest who for a pint of whiskey would bless anything. Hit a vamp in the heart or head with this caliber it'll dust, but even if you miss and get a leg or arm the limb will be useless if they can find it and believe me they don't heal from these wounds very quickly."  
  
"How did you figure all this out?" Alex asked, awed at Paul's ingenuity.  
  
Sadie made a face, "At first I didn't. Poppa made them up and went out alone to test them. When he had fine-tuned them he let me use them. Grant had a fit; he didn't think that slaying should involve such 'modern contraptions'. Maybe that's why I took to them. You know how to shoot?"  
  
Alex took the gun and clip sliding it back into place and eyed the bag of tricks curiously, "I do. What else do you have in there?"  
  
"A few more stakes, holy water and my knife," Sadie pulled it out so that he could see that the silver blade had crosses on it as well, "TJ usually uses the gun, it's better for the long range. I don't want him or anyone else trying to go hand-to-hand with one of these things. Just cover my back from a distance when I do and we'll be fine."  
  
Ignoring the pointed barb sent his way Alex chambered a round and nodded. "So, are we ready?"  
  
Flitting from shadow to shadow Sadie went into battle mode making her way to the crypt of Luanne Graneaux who would be learning the joys of her brief afterlife shortly. Hearing some indistinct sounds- Sadie pulled herself up short and peered around the corner of a tomb to find three very burly male vampires waiting outside of Luanne's resting place; they all reminded her of Jacques only bigger and uglier, "Damn, I should have guessed dying wouldn't change her." Sadie muttered to herself remembering Luanne's reputation in town.  
  
Slipping her stake into her pocket and fingering the spring on the stakes in her sleeves Sadie decided to go for it and hope Alex would cover her. Walking around the corner she plastered a look half way between idiocy and sadness onto her normally impassive face. The vamps turned as they heard her coming, "Oh I'm sorry," Sadie gushed trying to make it sound sincere, "I didn't know someone else was going to pay their respects to Luanne…"  
  
"There's no need to feel sorry for her," the biggest vampire snorted, "Don't mind us. Go ahead and do your bit."  
  
Smiling widely with what Sadie hoped was flirtatiousness she moved forward, "Did you know her well?"  
  
Again it was the big one that answered as if the others were too stupid to speak, "You could say that."  
  
Putting her back to him Sadie whispered a prayer to St. Jude-the patron of lost causes-that they would assume she was a bimbo ready to be eaten. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled warning her that they were about to strike. As soon as big and beefy's hand touched her shoulder, the head of the silent vamp closest to the crypt exploded in a rush of brain matter and skull fragments-then dust. "What the hell?" Big and Beefy roared looking around for the threat in the darkness- never expecting the threat in his grasp.  
  
"Hell, is right." Sadie rounded and extended her spring-mounted stake to hit the target; Big and Beefy was no more.  
  
With an animal-like cry the remaining vamp launched itself at Sadie. Dropping to her back she used the momentum to fling it into the foot of another crypt and was on her feet pulling her stake from her pocket when hands grabbed her form behind. Luanne was awake-and hungry, "Sadie!" The newbie hissed, "I never liked you, I wonder if you'll taste like chicken?"  
  
Unwilling to submit that easily Sadie rocked her head back and connected with Luanne's nose. Spinning Sadie implanted the stake deep in Luanne's heart then pulled it out, in a flash she flipped it to her other hand in time to use the other vampire's next lunge to impale him as well. Both vampires crumbled into dust.  
  
Sadie brushed herself off as Alex stepped out of his place in the shadows, "So how'd I do?"  
  
In all his years he hadn't seen anything as simple and elegant as Sadie's slaying style. She didn't use acrobatics or too many of the fancy weapons she had- and knew how to use from the looks of things; she didn't try to put her opponents off with witty repartee. Sadie just got to it and killed them-substance over style-he'd never seen three vamps taken down so quickly. He would definitely have to talk to Giles about Sadie's skills. Offering his charge an enigmatic smile he shrugged; "Pretty good."  
  
  
  
5 Four  
  
Dragging her feet ever so slightly Sadie got off of Alex's bike in front of La Masion. She could have handled praise for her work or even criticism but her new watcher's silence irked her. He had watched the other newbie become ash as Sadie set a new speed record for slaying- but after the faint praise at Luanne's grave there had been nothing further. Stopping on the first step she turned to face him, not liking the rush in her ears as he stood there watching her, "Alex?"  
  
"Yes, Mercedes?" he asked gently.  
  
Her light brows drew together and instead of saying what was on her mind she settled for small talk, "You never said where you were staying round here? How will I find you if I need you for something?"  
  
The slight smile fell from his face and suddenly Sadie was again seeing the man behind the watcher, "I…uh…shit!"  
  
"You forgot to find a place?" Sadie smiled, definitely liking this side of him more than the all business- 'I know all side'.  
  
"Yeah, I did. I was too centered on getting here." He answered plainly; "Guess that wasn't such a bright idea for a Watcher, huh?"  
  
Shrugging Sadie dropped some of her smile, "C'est vrai, it wasn't. Mais, I think the council should have arranged something for you- so it's not all your fault." She stopped and then let the rest out in a rush, "There's a spare room off of where we train-Grant used to sleep there when we were on research mode…if you need it…it's yours. I mean I can't let you sleep outside-if something ate you I might feel a bit guilty."  
  
"Might?" Alex couldn't resist a smile.  
  
Sadie shrugged again, which Alex could now see was a characteristic gesture of hers, "I don't know for sure yet if I would be. Thought I'd be honest with you. I'm not sure about you."  
  
"That works," he pushed the bike closer to the porch, "What will your father think about me staying?"  
  
"He'd think you were a tcheue poule not to," Sadie pulled one of her father's favorite names from thin air not even thinking to ask if Alex understood French.  
  
Taking the saddlebags off of the bike Alex scrunched up his face, "A chicken ass?"  
  
"You know French?" Sadie moved up another stair, "Now we can't talk about you behind your back."  
  
Alex grimaced remembering the grueling language lessons he had took as a part of his training in England, "I try not to though…don't worry about it."  
  
They stood there staring at each other, realizing that there was a kindred spirit inside the other. The moment stretched out then contracted with the sound of TJ's voice shouting from inside, "Jeez, Sade you romancing the Watcher, now?"  
  
Moving up the stairs Sadie offered her father a small smile as he walked out onto the gallerie his arms slung across his chest. Paul Dupuis shot a look of pride to his little girl, "You're home early."  
  
"There wasn't much competition ce soir, Poppa." Sadie planted a kiss on his cheek and Alex caught the softening in his features, "Poppa, Alex hasn't yet found a place to stay in town, I told him he could bunk in the spare room until he or the council makes other arrangements."  
  
"Les jeunes sont fou," Paul muttered and beckoned to Alex, "Come on Anglais, have some coffee and I'll get you squared away."  
  
Slinging his bags effortlessly over his shoulder Alex mounted the steps to the gallerie following Paul and Sadie inside. They circumvented what Alex had noted was the business section of La Maison and moved into the family portion. A cheery pale yellow kitchen greeted Alex's eyes, TJ sat at the round table clutching a mug. The young man didn't hide his disapproval that Alex had breached the inner sanctum of the Dupuis family. "What's he doing here?"  
  
"Anglais is staying as our guest until he has had a chance to find better living arrangements, Jean." Paul pulled another mug out and filled it with strong dark coffee, passing it back to the watcher and sitting himself down in his usual spot.  
  
The strong edge of reprimand in his tone kept the boisterous youngster from making any further comments. Catching a whiff of herself Sadie grimaced, "I'm going to have a shower…forgot to after training. See y'all when I get back…"  
  
Hurrying off to her bedroom and the only part of the house that was exclusively her own Sadie couldn't care less if she was throwing Alex to the gators or not. She needed to be away from him…besides she really did need a shower.  
  
The three men watched Sadie's retreating back from their assigned spots in the kitchen. Taking the mug Paul had offered him Alex eased into the chair facing Paul. Alex had a distinct feeling that they were waiting for him to say something, lifting the mug he sipped the coffee and admired the faint hint of chicory in it. Swallowing he set his eyes on Paul Dupuis and smiled, "Sadie let me use the gun you designed for her tonight, Sir. I must say I haven't had the honour of using anything so well thought out before."  
  
"Merci." Paul leveled his eyes at Alex, over the rim of his own mug, "I didn't expect to hear one of you praise it. That tete de merde Grant thought I was corrupting the purity of slaying. If you ask me it don't matter how those damn things die- as long as they do."  
  
Nodding as if he was speaking to an old buddy about football Alex sipped again, "I'm not so fussy about it all myself. Sadie's lucky to have you thinking these things up-they would have made life so much easier on the Hellmouth."  
  
"The Hellmouth?" TJ snorted, "Sounds like a bad title for a horror movie."  
  
Paul glared at the younger man, "Imbecile, if you had ever read the books Grant cherished so much you'd know it was a center for evil in the world before it was sealed up tighter than a nun's legs. Boca del Inferno. The mouth of hell. You grew up there Anglais?"  
  
"I did." Alex could see a glimmer of respect growing in the cerulean depths of Paul Dupuis' eyes. Alex decided to further the amount of information they had about himself by continuing, "I lost too many people I loved to it not to do something about the evil in this world, M. Dupuis."  
  
Finding himself left out of the loop, TJ stood awkwardly and set his mug in the sink. It was time for a strategic retreat much like Sadie's own moments before. "Tell Sade, I'll see her tomorrow."  
  
Paul watched the boy he thought of as a son leave and offered Alex a small shrug similar to his daughter's, "Don't mind TJ, he don't like anything to do with Sadie's slaying. He's thought it was his job to look after her since they were small-it was a big shock to him to find out that she was going to be the one protecting him. But he sticks with it so that he can do his part-not like that fils de putain Remi Dejardins-that boy could never be any good."  
  
"Dejardins?" Alex raised an eyebrow figuring it was serious to set Paul off on the tangent that was brewing.  
  
With a grunt Paul took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one, "He's the no good punk that my jeune fille fell for in high school. Remi used to tell her that she didn't have to put herself on the line for the world all the time. Removing his bad influence was the only thing Grant and I ever agreed on. He was lazy, self-serving and an all around screw up. 'Bout a month back he told Sadie it was him or slaying…" Paul's eyes glowed with pride, "And she had the sense to tell him to hit the road. He did and she's been moping since then."  
  
Sadie stood at the doorway wrapped in an old battered silk bathrobe hands on her hips and a furious expression on her face-she ignored Alex's presence in the room, "I have not been moping Poppa! Dieu! Can I not feel bad about my boyfriend walking out on me? Where in the slayer handbook does it say I have to accept everything in my life stoically? I've loved Remi since I was five years old whether you liked him or not and he's not here to defend himself so I'd appreciate it if you would just back off!"  
  
Turning on her heels Sadie stormed off to the training room to pound her frustrations out on the punching bag. The more her father and TJ harped about it the worse she felt. From the way Paul Dupuis told the story Sadie had made the right choice-Remi for her duty-but he didn't know about the part of her that wished she had just shucked it all and run off with him.  
  
In the kitchen Paul smiled despite having just been read the riot act. He offered Alex a shrug, "C'est ein affaire a pus finir between my chère 'tite bete and I. She takes after her grandmere…even I was scared of that old lady, I nearly ran when she told me I couldn't marry her daughter." He laughed a bit at the memory and Alex could tell it was one of many happy ones, "It seems that maybe you and M. Giles aren't such bon amis after all Anglais, my Sadie can try the patience of Job when she sets her mind to it."  
  
"So I noticed," Alex answered dryly almost feeling sorry for the punching bag-he could hear it groaning from the kitchen, "I've dealt with women like her before, two of my best friends and my fiancée were like that-I attract them like flies."  
  
Paul flicked a glance at Alex's ring finger, "It didn't happen." It was more a statement than a question; "Mais, you got to love her while you could, Anglais. In the end that's all that matters in the eyes of Dieu. Find love while you can- where you can, there's far too much hate in the world not to." He fingered the wedding ring he still wore after eleven years, "Believe me it gets better as long as you remember that you were loved."  
  
Alex took in the shared wisdom and knew he had at least one ally here-an important one at that. He could tell that Paul Dupuis was not the kind of man disposed to spouting philosophy but in his own way he was very much like his own 'father', Rupert Giles. It was comforting to know that even though Alex felt so far away he still held a piece of the home Giles had created for them in his heart. "Merci beaucoup, M. Dupuis. I appreciate it. Que sera sera n'est pas?"  
  
"So, you do speak Français." Paul's eyes lit up with mirth, "Good to know. Why don't I show you to your room? Sadie will tire herself out and tomorrow everything will be just like when you got here. She never stays mad at me long."  
  
Alex stood and put his mug in the sink, picking up his bag from beside his chair. Paul Dupuis led the way around the training room careful not to open the double doors that guarded the entrance. From the sound of things Sadie was still hitting the bag- hard. "There's a door from inside there, and another one down this hallway." Paul reached the door and swung it wide.  
  
It took a few seconds to find the light switch, but Paul's hand connected with it and the room was filled with illumination. The walls were a pale green, a faded border ran just below the ceiling and for a space without windows it was surprisingly cheerful. A single bed rested against the wall covered in an old quilt and several fluffy green pillows and there was a desk and several bookshelves crammed with whatever Sadie and her friends had scavenged from Grant's apartment after his death. On the far wall a watercolour painting of the swamp held court, "That's a beautiful painting M. Dupuis."  
  
"My wife painted it." Paul told him the brotherhood of loss, still encircling them; "She redecorated the whole place when we moved in. Luc wanted to bring a bit more civilization to what her mother called a backwards place. So she refined it all as much as she cared to."  
  
Setting his bags down on the bed, Alex let the older man have his happy memory for a few more seconds then broke in; he wasn't sure if Sadie's mother had been refining the house or Paul himself. "She did a wonderful job." He stated plainly referring to both the man and his home.  
  
Paul snapped himself back into the present and smiled ruefully pointing to the door that led to the training room, "I hope she doesn't keep you up all night with that. Sadie may look like her mother but inside she's just like her Poppa I guess, stubborn and hard headed."  
  
"Last time I checked those were good qualities to look for in a slayer." Alex quipped.  
  
Paul nodded his consent before moving to the door to leave Alex alone. "Oui, indeed they are Anglais. Bon soir."  
  
"Thank you M. Dupuis," Alex replied softly.  
  
The older man frowned, "From now on you can call me Paul, Anglais. Sometimes I think M. Dupuis is mon pere."  
  
Alex smiled; things were definitely looking up, "Merci Paul. Bon soir.  
  
"One more thing, Anglais…" Paul stopped at the door with a wicked grin on his face.  
  
"What's that?" a smile of his own quirked Alex's lips.  
  
The grin widened as Sadie began hitting the bag harder, probably due to their incursion on her space, "Welcome to the swamp." 


End file.
